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June is approaching. Goodness! That was quick; but it does mean garden parties and barbecues are more likely. And who doesn't enjoy a bit of socialising?Having family and friends visit you means lots of unwatched vehicles in your drive. Unless…
With a CCTV camera and super effective outdoor lighting, you're set for when the sun goes down and the party hots up.We are very competitive with prices and stock a huge range with quality and durability in mind. Just look at our website shop to see what we offer.For the sake of the safety of your property and that of your visitors' vehicles, it's worth giving us a call or visit our website. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
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While the nights are now lighter and we're enjoying brighter mornings, it makes us all feel that much more alive. But, on a darker note, that feeling spreads to opportunists too. At Mrk2 Security, we've years of experience behind us to advise you on our entire range but also on the situations that might occur when we least expect it. Have you ever considered CCTV for your home or office? It's definitely worth thinking about.
While we don't want to alarm you, you only need to be away from your premises for ten minutes to be burgled if someone has been studying your routine or see what products you've purchased. Here's a few tips to help you reduce your chances of attracting the wrong audience:.Remember the box your giant TV was delivered in? Don't just discard it for the weekly rubbish removals. This is a sure fire way to highlight that you're now the proud owner of an item that can be stolen. Advertising this box in the street is a big no no. Tear it into smaller pieces and dispose of it between the boxes the pet food came in. The same goes for your computer box too.. Sure your new car is shiny and a blessing to ease your lifestyle, but if it is on the road or the drive – potentially parked next to the garage it ought to be inside, it's just another piece of excitement for that joyrider.. Be aware of what you say when you are queuing up in shops. It only takes one set of ears to hear that your late grandmother's diamond ring is fine tucked away inside the top draw in your bedroom. That thief will watch you get into your car and follow you home. The rest is easy pickings for them.Discreet CCTV fixed to your home or your office is a small way to deter the attention of the bad guys and we'll help you achieve that prevention. Get in touch soon or pop into our shop.
Security lighting and security alarms aren't just practical items, they can be great gifts too!Why not think about this for the security conscious person in your family this year? We've several ranges to choose from for all kinds of reasons and to fit all kinds of budgets.The best of it is, the results will be a gift for the entire household by protecting your family day and night, summer and winter.Come by and visit our web site, browse and receive advice where it's wanted. With years of experience behind us, you won't fail to feel warm and fuzzy this winter.For immediate advice on what security items can make gifts for family or friends, call us now on the number shown or click in the header of any page to send an email.
If you are in the market for a security alarm but are unsure which is the best for your house or office, allow us to assist you.With years' of experience between our staff members, there are few questions we wont be able to answer. Also, you can be sure we will listen to your request and offer advice on what suits you and your budget.
It is possible an alarm is not the best choice for you, perhaps it is CCTV. If so, we have several in our range to choose from.Whatever your security issue, you'll receive peace of mind both financially and emotionally.Allow us to help.
April is here, nearly gone and the pleasant spring weather is still missing. Sadly, that doesn't deter criminals from pursuing their chosen occupation.Looking at the latest figures (February, 2018) from Essex Police, crimes against the home such as burglary, criminal damage and arson showed a slight fall compared to the previous months. However, this is no sign that any of us can become complacent. There were still 949 burglaries in the county in February 2018, so the need for good security measures, up to date, well maintained alarms and CCTV systems, is as great as ever.The good news is that with the longer hours of daylight, we can fit in more free security audits for homes and business premises. So, to make sure that what you have stays yours and to make the criminals' lives as difficult as possible, call us on the number shown or click in the header of any page to send us an email.
Finally!The days are getting lighter and the evenings are darker later. This gives us all a bit of confidence when it comes to protecting what is ours.Lighter evenings mean fewer opportunities not to be seen when up to no good but there are always those who try it anyway. That is why we offer the best CCTV equipment money can buy.We offer advice before you buy so you don't end up making the wrong decision, and we offer advice with the items before, during and after they've been fitted if you need it.
Get yourself down to Mrk2 Security as soon as you can to ensure you are giving your family the best protection this year.We look forward to seeing you soon.
Yes, it definitely is a little chilly now. The warmth has disappeared and with it most of the sunshine yet there are some pretty amazing sunsets this time of year.And when that sun does go down each evening, the darkness takes over very early in the day. From around 4pm each day from now until the middle of January, the cover of darkness is what many opportunists need.Ensure you property is protected from curious minds and fit CCTV cameras and alarms. We have several different types that will fit your circumstances and your budget. With years of experience and a friendly service, we'll advise you on every aspect of the process.Remember, we cannot stop the worst from happening - but we can do an awful lot to prevent it. Get in touch soon because it is better to be safe than sorry.
October is with us and soon the days will be laced with dew, spiders webs and the occasional icy path. Therefore it seems the most logical next step to ensure the security of your property especially with these darker evenings approaching.
Mrk2 Security are here to help you with that decision. With a wide range of security equipment, knowledge and experience, you'll get the very best that money can buy. The thing is with home or office security is that we all hope it will never happen but if it did, surely you would want the best?You'll be given advice, from our years of experience, over what to choose for the job. Plus you'll have it supplied and installed at very competitive rates. So it really is a no-brainer. We'll be there every step of the way to help you make that decision.Let your family enjoy their autumn with peace and security. You'll sleep well knowing you made the right choice.
Even though the weather is going to start getting colder soon, don`t worry because we still have plenty of sunshine to enjoy while this month is with us. With that sunshine, however, we occasionally find ourselves attracting unwanted attention, that attention may be in the form of someone wanting access inside your premises.
Pretty soon the evenings will be drawing in so much that by 8pm it will be pitch black outside - perfect for those who enjoy loitering in the darkness. If your premises, at home or at work, could do with a safety check, then you'll be thrilled to learn that our regular customers enjoy a professional yet friendly service. If, like them, you prefer to deal with a business that puts your needs ahead of the game, then look no further.It makes sense, therefore, to use those darkening evenings for cosying up with your family and enjoying the peace of mind good security can bring. We look forward to seeing you soon.
August, named after the first Roman Emperor Augustus is now with us. We still have our beautiful summer weather, and a bank holiday to look forward to at the end of the month. If intruder alarms, security and access control systems are on your mind, this may be a great time to contact us to talk over what we can do for commercial & domestic building owners in the London and Essex area.
Emperor Augustus had the month August named after him because of all the fortunate things that happened to him in that month, so August is the month for fortunate things! Who knows? You could also be lucky, however, if like many people, you feel that home or business security is too important to trust good fortune, it may be a good time to act. To benefit from the independence and flexibility, which leaves us free to offer the most appropriate system for your needs so we can arrange an independent, unbiased security survey. For peace of mind simply click the header image on any page to send us an email , so contact us today. Mrk2 Security on 01708 874 117.
March is a great time for thinking about intruder alarms, security and access control systems as there will be a lot of celebrations this month, including two days celebrating the Saints St David and St Patrick, as well as Mothering Sunday. Such times should not be marred by concerns over whether your security arrangements are adequate to protect your home and business.Commercial & domestic building owners throughout the London and Essex area need to be vigilant at all times of year. We try to make sure that their celebrations will be as relaxed as possible by integrating and maintaining systems to give the security they need.
By taking advantage of our independence and flexibility, which leaves us free to offer the most appropriate system for the circumstances, your system is built to offer the protection that you need taking into account the premises and local risk. If you would like to arrange an independent, unbiased security survey for one of the significant days in March, or just have peace of mind You can also click the header image on any page to email us, or call Mrk2 Security on 01708 874 117
February is the month to celebrate pancakes and love, but while you are not being romantic or eating pancakes you can take a look at our intruder alarms, security and access control systems Many of our customers are commercial & domestic building owners throughout the London and Essex area.This February many of those customers will be coming to us because of our independence and flexibility, which leaves us free to offer the most appropriate system for their needs Many of them will ask us to arrange an independent, unbiased security survey If you would like to have peace of mind for the ones you love this February, call Mrk2 Security on 01708 874 117
Every time of change is a time of opportunity. This is very true of January, the perfect month to look back on the previous year and of course look forward to the coming one, make the most of the new year opportunities ahead. Janus, the Roman god who gave this month its name looks forward and looks back and, we are sure would appreciate the consistently high standards of intruder alarms, security and access control systems. By focusing on our customers including commercial & domestic building owners throughout London and Essex who come to us for the independence and flexibility leaves us free to offer the most appropriate system for your needs.
Make a great start to the year ahead by arranging an independent, unbiased security survey then sit back and enjoy peace of mind. All you need to do is call Mrk2 Security, 01708 874 117 or click in the header of any page to send us an email, and relax.
December is with us and winter is closing in, Christmas is just around the corner and this is always a popular time to think about intruder alarms, security and access control systems. With limited time available before the whole country goes on holiday, many customers including commercial & domestic building owners throughout London and Essex will be making the most of their last opportunities this year to benefit from the independence and flexibility leaves us free to offer the most appropriate system for your needs, which has earned us our enviable reputation.
To arrange an independent, unbiased security survey so that you go into the holiday period enjoying peace of mind get in touch with Mrk2 Security, 01708 874 117 or click the header image on any page to send an email.
Anti-crime charity, Crimestoppers is working to reduce burglaries in Essex over the Christmas period, which is sadly a time that this kind of crime reaches a peak. They are sending out 120,000 postcards to homes in the area, asking for information.Stuart Rawlins, Chairman of Essex Crimestoppers added: "Being burgled is not just about losing possessions, it also robs you of feeling safe in your own home. People should be able to feel secure and confident in their homes."
Prevention though, is always so much better than cure. Effective alarm systems and CCTV installations can deter thieves and help make sure that your property is safe over the holiday season. There is still time to get your home or business security arrangements assessed before Christmas. The advice given is without any obligation and could just help you make sure that you have the most effective deterrent to criminals. Call us now on the number shown or click in the header of any page to send us an email and get us to give your security the once-over before the criminals do.
August is here and the summer holidays are in full swing. With so many homes and business premises being left unattended for days or even weeks on end, there is no better time to make sure that your security arrangements are up to the task of keeping your home or business safe.With the range of alarm and CCTV systems available to us, you can be sure of unbiased, independent advice based solely on what offers the best and most appropriate protection for your own circumstances.
You will have to be a bit quick though as the whole firm is taking a break as well and making a pilgrimage to The Pub in Valetta, Malta where Ollie Reed died in 1999. We will be back in full effect early in September though, so will look forward to swapping holiday tales with our customers then.
It is great to welcome the Hikvision range of cameras to our product portfolio. Hikvision makes a wide range of analogue and network security cameras for security applications.The diversity of their product range means that there is a camera for every need, featuring high resolution, low light level capability and a host of other functions that help to keep your premises secure.Choose from indoor domes, outdoor domes, self-illuminating and IR cameras, bullet cameras, box cameras and covert pinhole cameras to monitor any space from the smallest cottage to the biggest storage yard.With such a wide choice available, and so many peripherals to complete your security system, making the right choice may need some specialist advice. Call us now for a free security audit without any obligation, or click in the header of any page to send us an email.
Alarms can be a fantastic deterrent to criminals, but only if they know there is one fitted to your property.Our new bell box design is stark and obvious, leaving the world in no doubt that you are protected by an alarm system. With the combinations available your home or workplace can be protected by wireless or wired systems, each one tailored to be as secure as possible, regardless of how many potential access points you have.
With an alarm to deter intruders, your open spaces can be protected with CCTV installations to complement the alarms. Look out for details of new cameras and control units coming soon.For a complete, independent security assessment and free quotation, call us now on the number shown above or click in the header of any page to send us an email.
Mrk2 Security customer, Bombardier has won the contract to make trains for the new Crossrail link from Essex to Heathrow.For any business, security is vital and we are pleased that a little while ago, Bombarider chose Mrk2 Security to install alarms and CCTV systems at their Essex depot.
You don't have to be a multi-billion pound international business to get the best security systems for your work place though. From the smallest to the largest concerns, you can be sure of sound advice, a system tailored to your needs, efficient installation and thorough maintenance when you deal with Mrk2 Security.As we are not tied to any one manufacturer or system, the advice you get from us is completely independent and unbiased, the only criterion being that the systems specified are appropriate to your needs and your budget. Call us now on the number shown above, or click in the header of any page to send us an email and get a free, no-obligation assessment of your security needs.
Last month we mentioned how this time of year is one to exercise special vigilance with so many of us leaving homes and businesses unattended while we take our annual break. To bring the risks into focus, we have just received Essex crime statistics for June 2013, which are summarised below. They highlight the risks to premises, vehicles and people out there on the street. Many of these risks can be reduced dramatically through intelligent use of alarm and CCTV systems.
June 2013 in Essex saw 13416 crimes reported. They can be broken down into the following categories:
How much better would you be relaxing while sitting on the beach if you knew that the security arrangements for your home or place of business were as good as they can be, helping to make sure that you come home to everything just as you left it?For the coming months, Mrk2 Security is offering a free security audit to make sure that your alarm and CCTV installations are up to the job of keeping your premises and property safe while you are away.
July and August are peak times for holidays. The schools are closed and everyone is free to get away for that glorious fortnight in the sun that makes it all worthwhile for the rest of the year.This is also the time when more homes and small businesses are left unattended for days, even weeks on end. You may want to read the latest crime novel while you are away, so let us help you make sure that you don't fall victim to crime while you are not looking. Call us free on 0800 0 519 579 or click in the header of any page to email us and arrange your free security audit.
Bombardier Transportation is a global company with 76 production and engineering sites in 25 countries. The company operates a worldwide network of service centres, and ranks among the leaders in two fast-paced industries; rail and aerospace, where it is a world leader in equipment and systems manufacrture.When it came to reshaping their yard in Ilford to make room for part of the space to be used by Crossrail, security was naturally a very important element of the changes. We are proud that Bombardier chose Mrk2 Security to make sure that the alarms and CCTV systems are up to the task of keeping this huge space secure, before, during and after the current works.
A new website has just been launched by the Police that will help us to help you avoid becoming the victim of crime. By going to police.uk and entering your postcode, you can get a detailed break-down of what types of crime are being committed in your area.
Using the information from this helps our security experts to work with customers to build the most effective security system based on risk levels. The highly personalised service offered by Mrk2 Security means that you can cost-effectively install the most appropriate combination of alarm and CCTV equipment for the greatest possible safety and peace of mind. Call us free on 0800 0 519 579 or click in the header of any page to email us to get a free consultation and risk analysis.
We're moving! Having had a brilliant year, the original office has been outgrown, so thank you to all our customers who have made us so busy!As from the end of May, we will be in our new premises at:7 Thames RoadBarkingEssexIG11 0HNPhone numbers, email addresses and all our other contact details stay the same.
Scaffolding theft is a sadly common crime, and by their nature scaffolding yards are big, open areas, difficult to secure.That is why Abbey Scaffolding in Barking chose Mrk2 Security to install alarm and CCTV equipment to safeguard their valuable equipment and vehicles.Whatever the scope of your security requirement from a small house to a large, wide open area, Mrk2 has the right solution and the experience to install and maintain systems to make sure your security is as tight as it can be. Simply click in the header of any page to email us, or call on 08000 519 579 to find out how easy and cost effective it can be.Photo courtesy of Abbey Scaffolding.
December is with us and winter is closing in, Christmas is just around the corner and this is always a popular time to think about keeping your property locked up.With limited time available before the whole country goes on holiday, many customers of ours like the idea of browsing our website for last minute ideas about which security system they want to use.
Whatever your choice of protection, it is worth knowing that we are always on hand to give you all the help, assistance and advice you might need. We can answer all your security questions too.One word of advice though, keep the chimney free for the big red suited guy to get down otherwise there may be a few tears on Christmas morning...and nobody wants that.Merry Christmas to all our customers in 2017 and we look forward to serving you in 2018.


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One World Symphony
Sung Jin Hong, Artistic Director and Conductor
Under the baton of Artistic Director Sung Jin Hong, One World Symphony and its feature artists will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (highlights). All the details are on the attached jpeg press release as well as on our website. One World Symphony's Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of its world premiere (1909).
Russian Romantics
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909)
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (highlights)
Two Performances at Two Different Locations
Friday, March 13, 2009 at 8:00p.m.
St. Ann and the Holy Trinity
157 Montague Street
Brooklyn Heights, New York
Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
Ansche Chesed Synagogue
251 West 100th Street at West End Avenue
Manhattan, New York
$40 General Admission
$30 Seniors & Students
For more details and artists' biographies, please visit One World Symphony at:

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'Catfish' making the Tigers' lineup dangerous from the bottom up
DETROIT — After facing the Detroit Tigers 10 days ago, Washington Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann expressed that every opposing pitcher would ideally like to do — and, at the same time, knows is a nearly impossible task.
"They have one of the best lineups in baseball. You have to be careful with every one of their hitters," said Zimmermann, the Nats' best pitcher this season, lamenting the hit by Miguel Cabrera that shot through the hole, accounting for the Tigers' only run in a 3-1 loss, snapping his own personal 20-inning scoreless streak.
"The plan tonight was not to let (Prince) Fielder and Cabrera beat me and he got that ball through the hole. He's a great hitter and you're going to give up hits like that once in a while."
Trust me, though — pitchers would much rather take their chances that they can get guys like Jhonny Peralta, Alex Avila, Omar Infante and even designated hitter Victor Martinez out, rather than tempt fate by pitching aggressively to Fielder or Cabrera.
Through the first 40 games of the season, though, most of those bottom-of-the-lineup guys have been holding their own.
That fact is why the Tigers' offense has been so much better — vastly more balanced, at least — than it was a year ago.
They've done well enough that the Tigers went into Saturday night's game tops in the majors in runs scored (212), hits (407), RBI (208), team batting average (.280), on-base percentage (.348) and second in OPS (on-base plus slugging, .790).
Detroit also has a streak of at least one extra-base hit in 34 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the big leagues.
Sure, a ton of that can be attributed to Cabrera and Fielder, who rank first and fifth respectively, in the big leagues in RBI. Cabrera is leading the planet in hitting (.376), connecting for a sickening .509 (27-for-53) average with runners in scoring position.
No question those two are deadly.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland's called it the best combination of No. 3 and No. 4 hitters he's ever managed. Pitcher Max Scherzer went a step further.
"That's the best 3-4 hitting combination, maybe in the history of the game. You can put some other guys in there — if they're not better, they're right there with them," said Scherzer (5-0), who basked in the offensive support to push his win streak to five games. "It's just special to watch what they do, every single night. You see them every single day, and they come up with big hits, in clutch situations, and it just shows you how good they are, just how difficult it is to face our lineup."
But two men cannot do it alone. Nor can three.
That's what we saw last year, when Fielder, Cabrera and Austin Jackson had sensational years, only to have the Tigers score more than 60 fewer runs than a season prior, at a rate of nearly half a run less per game.
The reason? No support from the bottom of the lineup.
Peralta fell off from his All-Star pace of 2011. So did Avila.
Brennan Boesch was MIA. Delmon Young was no Martinez.
And nobody plugged into the holes in left field and second base produced consistently.
This year, when healthy, Andy Dirks has been contributing in left. Infante's been there all year at second base, and Peralta seems to have rediscovered his stroke. And Martinez, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, may have more hard-hit balls for outs than anyone in baseball.
Now, as an opposing pitcher, there's no breather once you get past Fielder, no letdown in the pressure you're facing.
You have to worry about the bottom of the lineup, almost as much as the top, because those guys can beat you, too.
"It's a team game. The big guys do it a lot, but they can't do it every time," said Dirks, who hit sixth most of the season, before getting the majority of the at-bats in the injured Jackson's leadoff spot. "Sometimes, you gotta score in the bottom part of the order to win games."
You can't take the bottom-feeders, the 'Catfish' as Torii Hunter calls them, for granted.
"I've been around a long time. You hear about catfish, we call them bottom-feeders. That's the bottom, they've been doing a great job," Hunter said. "Great job."
But won't your big guys carry the team 80 to 90 percent of the time?
"A lot of times they won't. I say less than that. I'd say about 60 percent, for the big guys. Nobody wants them to beat you. We don't want them to beat us. They'll put those guys on and get to the bottom feeders. And they're the ones that make a big impact. In my career, that's what I've seen. Playoffs, they're important. In the playoffs, your big guys don't do nothing, because they're not going to let you beat them," Hunter said.
"Those are the guys that are very important, very important. Cuz they're going to pitch to those guys."
This year, they're beating people.
Entering Saturday, Peralta (.319) and Infante (.316) both sat just outside the top 10 in the American League in hitting. They rank just behind the Tigers' Big Two in slugging, with a combined 22 extra-base hits.
Frequently a slow starter, Peralta was hitting around .260 at this time last year, before finishing the season in a slump, and with a .239 average.
"He's using all fields a little bit more than normal, even though he's a pull hitter," Leyland said. "He's having a real nice year."
Infante's doing better than that, helping the Tigers rank first in the AL in production from the No. 9 spot in the order, with a .299 average, 46 hits, 22 RBI and 16 extra-base hits from the final spot. He's been doing well enough that he was the best option for Leyland to plug in at the injured Jackson's leadoff spot against a left-handed pitcher.
It's a big difference from last year, too, when Infante hit just .257 in 64 games with the Tigers last year after being traded by Miami.
Those two have done well enough that there's been virtually no time for reserve infielder Ramon Santiago, who has started just eight of the Tigers' 40 games, and just four this month.
"Yeah, Jhonny and Omar, they've been unbelievable. Hitting the ball every day, and coming through with the bottom of the lineup," said Santiago after he started Tuesday, and contributed an RBI double.
"Skip, what's he supposed to do? Those guys have been doing the job. I don't complain about it. I don't have much AB, but when I have a chance to play, I try to contribute. When those guys are hitting the ball, you gotta keep them in the lineup. ...
"I know I want to play, but sometimes you gotta think about the team. That's the most important thing."
It's been the same thing with Matt Tuiasosopo, who has already almost doubled his career RBI total in just 24 games, and is hitting .375. Same thing with backup catcher Brayan Pena, who has chipped in eight RBI in 12 games played. Don Kelly already has as many home runs (and home-run robbing catches, too) as all of last season.
"Everybody here knows that I'm a big believer in playing everybody and getting everybody out there, and having everybody contribute," Leyland said.
"One thing about it: When guys don't play too much, you know for sure they're really hungry, and they want to be in there, and they're going to be bearing down and concentrating. Not that the other guys don't, but when you play every day, it's not easy to get out there every single day and be at your best. Doesn't mean you're not giving your best, but it's hard to be at your best."
When the top-of-the-lineup guys aren't, the Catfish have been there to pick them up.
"You can't expect Cabrera and Fielder to do it every night," Leyland said. "On the nights they don't do it, if the other parts of the order don't help out, then you probably lose that game. ... Just chip in. ... You don't have to carry us — just chip in."


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Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Demetrious Johnson had a little something to show anybody who still doubts the UFC's small guys can produce big knockouts.
Johnson stopped Joseph Benavidez with a devastating right hand in the first round Saturday night, defending his UFC flyweight title and capping a dominant year for the 5-foot-3 champion known as Mighty Mouse.
With his third win of the year, Johnson (19-2-1) remained the only champion in the history of the UFC's lightest men's division. But he did it in a fashion almost nobody expected, catching Benavidez (19-4) directly in the face with an unblocked punch and knocking the challenger senseless 2:08 into the fight.
"A lot of people say I don't have knockout power, but I'm always getting better," Johnson said. "I just let it go, and I was happy to get the finish."
Local favorites Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes also won on a card stacked with mixed martial artists from Northern California, but Johnson _ from the Seattle area _ silenced Benavidez's hometown crowd by winning a rematch against a fighter who inspired him to get into the sport.
Benavidez appeared to be out cold before he hit the canvas, and Johnson landed several additional punches before the referee stepped in.
Johnson beat Benavidez by split decision in Toronto 15 months ago, claiming the UFC's first flyweight title in a tight matchup. Johnson defended his title twice earlier this year against John Dodson and John Moraga, but Benavidez earned his way back to a title shot with three straight victories this year, the last two by impressive stoppage.
"If people want to see me as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, that's totally fine," Johnson said. "My job is to go back in the gym and keep working. It was a great year for me. Had a couple of great fights, and I'm happy to come away with this knockout. ... It would be awesome to be the fighter of the year for 2013, but my goal is just to keep on getting better and win fights."
Faber stopped Michael McDonald in the second round, knocking the younger bantamweight into the side of the cage with punches before finishing with a guillotine choke. Mendes fought off an illness to beat Nik Lentz by decision. Lightweight Joe Lauzon opened the televised card by beating Mac Danzig in a bloody unanimous decision.
Faber (30-6) was fighting in his hometown for the first time in nine bouts since April 2010, and for the first time under the UFC banner. He was a champion in the lighter-weight WEC promotion before it was absorbed by the UFC, and he appears to be rounding into championship form again in the 135-pound division.
"People say I'm old, but I'm 34," Faber said. "Look at what people are doing in their 40s and 50s, and it's amazing. The guys on my team prepared me so well for this fight that I never doubted I would get the victory."
The Sacramento crowd roared throughout Faber's ring walk to his trademark song, 2Pac's "California Love," and they actively booed McDonald, who's from nearby Modesto. Faber took charge from the opening moments, controlling the fight on the ground and in standup.
Faber caught McDonald with punches early in the second round and again midway through the round, knocking his stumbling opponent of the side of the cage with the force of his blows. Faber pounced on the prone McDonald and finished it with one of his trademark chokes, thrilling the crowd.
"There is a real sense of community here in Sacramento," Faber said. "We have a lot to cheer about, and I'm glad I get to play a role in that. Michael McDonald is a tremendous opponent and I really look forward to watching his career. He's got so much potential, but tonight was my night."
McDonald (16-3) has lost two of his last three bouts, also losing by submission in a title shot against Renan Barao in February.
Mendes (16-1) won without much flair, controlling the first round and largely coasting through the final 10 minutes against Lentz (26-6-2). Mendes, who had stopped his last four opponents, said he had a sinus infection.
"After the first round, my lungs felt heavy," Mendes said. "But I just had to power through it. I hit Lentz hard, about as hard as any guy I have ever fought. He kept bouncing back."
Lauzon (23-10) won every round for just his second victory in his last five fights, leaving Danzig (22-12-1) with a bloody face and a badly damaged nose after his fourth loss in five bouts.
Canadian lightweight Sam Stout won every round in an early decision over Cody McKenzie, who fought in plain white shorts with pockets _ and the price tags still attached until referee Herb Dean ripped them off. McKenzie forgot his shorts at his hotel and had to buy a new pair outside the arena.
"That's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen, and it's even weirder that we let it happen," White said.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Click the button below to head over to Cate's blog and see what others have to say on 6WS!
" Love: 'til death do us part…"
Click the button below to head over to Cate's blog and see what others have to say on 6WS!
" Love: 'til death do us part…"
Posted by Nikki B. at 6:00 AM 2 comments
They are most definitely addicting.
A month ago, after passing my final test of nursing school, I had my seventh tattoo done. A tattoo that was fourteen years in the making. A tattoo that represented the end of my journey into becoming a part of the medical profession.
Yesterday, I got my eighth piece done.
Three little birds. "Bird" was my nickname growing up, in fact, much of my family still calls me "Bird" even now. However, I plan to get another much more colorful bird tattoo in honor of my childhood nickname.
This piece is more for another reason. Bob Marley's song, "Three Little Birds" was played at my graduation from nursing school after the newest crop of soon to be nurses walked across the stage, and I just love it. The song's message? Always apropos, "Every little thing….is gonna be alright."
Such a good message, and for a tattoo lover, no better reminder than inked right on my shoulder. In life, no matter what, no matter who, no matter how…♫…don't worry…about a thing…'cause every little thing…is gonna be alright…♫
So, yeah…they are totally addictive, and I'm hooked. Now if only my family would get on board with it. When I came home with my last one, The One Who Gets Away With Murder looked at the large reddened , freshly tatted spot on my back and with sincerity, said, "Mom…you have your nose pierced and tattoos everywhere. I don't want you to be one of those with tattoos all over her arms and stuff."
I looked down at that sweet eight year old face and where the shame should've been, sarcasm erupted and I replied, "Awww…I'm sorry sweetheart, you don't get to pick your parents!"
Posted by Nikki B. at 9:50 PM 3 comments
I struggle with whether or not I should blog about my mom. As I said in an earlier post, we've been estranged for around 10 months.
Is that enough said?
Do I owe it to her to keep my mouth shut, publicly, about what being her daughter has been like?
Do I owe it to myself to purge what being her daughter has been like? Purge this shit out of my head, out of my heart, and hopefully rid this heavy weight I carry on my shoulders in regard to my mother.
I have so many mixed feelings.
She did the best she could, or knew how to do…as all of us mothers do…however, her faults, many times, were at my expense. Not on me physically, no. My mother did not give me physical scars. She gave me emotional ones. Psychological ones. One is not worse than the other, but, these psychological/emotional scars have formed smoothed, raised callouses in my psyche, that have sometimes impeded the way of me becoming…well, me.
Or did they cause me to become me?
That's what Jake says. He says I should be grateful that she made me who I am. I do love me some me, but…surely there was a kinder way to nurture me, for me to still be me. No? I don't know.
I just know that I have a lot to talk about in regard to my mother, and I can't talk to her about it. She won't listen to me. She says this is all my fault that I'm too sensitive.
Um…do you guys know me? Is sensitive a word you'd use to describe me?
Yeah…me either.
What is your opinion on the matter?
To blog, respectfully, about my mother…or not to blog…that is the question!
Posted by Nikki B. at 8:24 AM 8 comments
I MUST be doing this motherhood thing all wrong.
Because THIS is my 8 year old's favorite song…
I love me some white rappers, but dayum, dude!
Posted by Nikki B. at 3:51 PM 1 comments
Blog style.
Good news: I'm vowing to blog again. And yes, at this point in my absenteeism, I realize I'm likely talking to myself. That's kind of the point anyway.
Which leads me to the…
Bad news: The next several posts will be devoid of funny.
You see, over the past two years, I've spiraled back into the chasm of depression. How I made it through nursing school during this psychological shit storm, I have no idea. I just know that now that the dust has settled (yes, this bitch has graduated and there is only one test in my way of the letters R and N behind my name), I look around and hardly recognize myself.
I take that back.
I do recognize myself. And I don't love who I see. I am the me of seven years ago, the first time I found myself in this now familiar chasm. It fucking sucks. I look the same…about twenty pounds (I'm lying…actually more) overweight, full of self loathing, arguing with my husband because I'm so fucking unhappy with myself. My mind reeling from being pulled and stretched farther than I imagined possible during school, now ten months estranged from my mother (for very good reasons…this is actually a plus, yet it still hurts like hell), with the same seven year ago sadness in my eyes and downturn of my lips.
Are YOU now in the chasm with me…did I depress the shit out of you?
No? Good.
I did have to succeed and start taking the happy pills again. In fact, I'm on two. A "happy pill," and because that wasn't enough, a "happier pill." They've begun to help, but, I still have some bullshit in my brain that I need to wade through.
This is where you come in, r/t (that's nursey nurse for 'related to'") this little ole blog and the back gettingness of this groove of mine…
I do plan to use the next several posts as a sort of therapy, and get some of this shit out of my head and into my blog. I plan to document this go 'round of "the crazy" so that when I'm faced with future episodes of "the crazy," this blog will be sort of a beacon in the darkness of this chasm that I sometimes find myself in.
So, hang with me, or not, just know that one day soon, I will have my groove back and by God, there will be funny again!!
I missed this place. I love you. "Kiss the babies for me."
Posted by Nikki B. at 7:31 PM 10 comments
When you're telling them about something good that just happened in your life...
"Yeah, well, the thing is...I've decided that when bad things happen to people, it's because the devil is attacking them. But, when good things happen to people over and over, it's because the devil already has a hold of them, and there is no use for him to try to attack them any longer. He already has them in his grip."
Don't ask me how I know this...
Whew, it feels better to get that off my chest!
Posted by Nikki B. at 10:04 PM 7 comments
I'm sick. After about a month of trying everything that my nursing textbooks taught me on how to rid fluid from one's ears, I gave in and went to the doc, yesterday.
I have a double ear infection.
And apparently, I'm a two year old.
Steroid shot and antibiotic shot in the ass yesterday didn't yield an overwhelming result, and I started a round of antibiotics today, still feeling crummy, grouchy, running fever, can't hear worth a damn, ear hurts like hell, stressed to the max about this semester, a million things to do, and not one iota of energy or gumption to do even one of them.
So, what is a grown ass woman who feels like shit and is alone in her home to do?
She texts her husband and whines to him.
*It's confirmed…I'm two years old!!*
Me: Don't feel better, my love. Still running fever. Even with Tylenol all day. I need you to nurse me back to health.
*I even added one of those little sad face crying emoticons for effect…like this one *
And the compassionate, caring, empathetic, Nightingale-ish husband of mine, texted me back:
Him: I'm on my way home now, stopping by to get dinner. Don't worry about that. Get in bed, I'll be there soon. Would you like a shake? Or, some ice cream? Anything from the pharmacy? I love you more than life itself and it almost makes me ill to know that you're not feeling well. I'll give you a massage after I do the kids' homework with them, and run you a bath. See you in 30 minutes. My nursing techniques are invasive as hell!
Men…they think that "thing" of theirs is the answer to everything!
And, yeah…please don't tell my husband I blogged this!
Posted by Nikki B. at 2:28 PM 6 comments


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WASHINGTON >> The White House and the leaders of the congressional intelligence committees are rejecting former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's plea for clemency.
"Mr. Snowden violated U.S. law," White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday about the former systems-analyst-turned-fugitive who has temporary asylum in Russia.
"He should return to the U.S. and face justice," Pfeiffer said when pressed about whether clemency was being discussed.
Snowden made the plea in a letter given to a German politician and released Friday. In his one-page typed letter, he asks for clemency for charges over allegedly leaking classified information about the NSA to the news media. ""Speaking the truth is not a crime," Snowden wrote.
Snowden's revelations, among them allegations that the U.S. has eavesdropped on allies including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have led to calls by allies to cease such spying and moves by Congress to overhaul U.S. surveillance laws and curb the agency's powers.
Bu the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said if Snowden had been a true whistle-blower, he could have reported his concerns to her committee privately.
"That didn't happen, and now he's done this enormous disservice to our country," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "I think the answer is no clemency."
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, called clemency for Snowden a "terrible idea."
"He needs to come back and own up," said Rogers, R-Mich. "If he believes there's vulnerabilities in the systems he'd like to disclose, you don't do it by committing a crime that actually puts soldiers' lives at risk in places like Afghanistan."
Rogers contended that Snowden's revelations had caused three terrorist organizations to change how they communicate.
Both lawmakers addressed word that President Barack Obama did not realize Merkel's personal phone was being tapped.
Rogers implied that he didn't believe the president, or European leaders who claimed they were shocked by Snowden's allegations.
"I think there's going to be some best actor awards coming out of the White House this year and best supporting actor awards coming out of the European Union," he said "Some notion that … some people just didn't have an understanding about how we collect information to protect the United States to me is wrong."
Feinstein said she didn't know what the president knew, but said she intended to conduct a review of all intelligence programs to see if they were going too far.
"Where allies are close, tapping private phones of theirs … has much more political liability than probably intelligence viability," she said.
Feinstein and Rogers been criticized for defending the NSA. Feinstein's committee produced a bill last week that she says increases congressional oversight and limits some NSA powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Privacy advocates say the measure codifies the agency's rights to scoop up millions of American's telephone records.
Former NSA and CIA director Mike Hayden said it was possible Obama did not know about the alleged Merkel phone tapping.
But he said it was "impossible" that Obama's top staffers were unaware. "The fact that they didn't rush in to tell the president this was going on points out what I think is a fundamental fact: This wasn't exceptional. This is what we were expected to do."
Hayden's defense of the president comes days after he reportedly criticized the White House's handling of NSA revelations, when a former Democratic political operative tweeted snatches of Hayden's phone conversation, overheard on an Amtrak train.
Pfeiffer appeared on ABC's "This Week," while Rogers, Feinstein and Hayden were interviewed on CBS' "Face the Nation."


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(CNN) — Whether a radioactive substance called polonium-210 was involved in Yasser Arafat's death is under investigation. The body of the former Palestine Liberation Organization leader was exhumed Tuesday for this purpose and reburied.
Arafat died in 2004. A murder inquiry into his death was opened this year after high levels of polonium-210 were found on Arafat's toothbrush, clothing and keffiyeh, the black-and-white headscarf he often wore.
Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the Palestinian investigation committee, said forensic experts from France, Switzerland and Russia took their own samples for independent analysis.
Polonium-210 is not a radioactive substance that emits gamma particles, which can travel through walls at extremely high energies. Instead, as polonium-210 decays, it releases alpha particles, which can't even pass through a piece of paper.
But alpha particles are still dangerous. They travel short distances and retain a high amount of energy.
In nature, it takes about 138 days for half of a given quantity of polonium-210 to decay. But because biological processes also work to eliminate the substance, it takes about 50 days for half of it to disappear while inside the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PDF).
Polonium-210 is a problem to humans only when it gets into the body. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that careful hand-washing and showering can eliminate most traces of this substance.
The radioactive substance can enter body by eating or drinking contaminated things, breathing contaminated air, or inhaling or ingesting bodily fluids from someone contaminated with it. A wound can also become contaminated.
"Radiation, just like with any toxic chemical, is related to dose," said Cham Dallas, a professor and toxicologist at the University of Georgia's Institute for Disaster Management. "If you get a big dose, then you'll die sooner."
And with polonium-210, a dangerous dose can be a matter of micrograms: smaller than a single speck of pepper, he said.
If you ingest polonium-210, about 50% to 90% of the substance will exit the body through feces, according to a fact sheet from Argonne National Laboratory (PDF). What is left will enter the bloodstream. About 45% of polonium ingested gets into the spleen, kidneys and liver, and 10% is deposited in the bone marrow.
Radiation poisoning from polonium-210 looks like the end stage of cancer, Dallas said.
Liver and kidney damage ensue, along with extreme nausea and severe headaches. Victims often experience vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss. The alpha particles emitted from the decaying substance get absorbed in the body, which is what causes harm. Death may come in a matter of days, sometimes weeks.
There is no cure for severe radiation poisoning, Dallas said. A few experimental treatments are in the works for people who are able to stay on the edge of potential survival, but they have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Arafat died at age 75 at a Paris military hospital after he suffered a brain hemorrhage and slipped into a coma. Palestinian officials said in the days before his death that Arafat had a blood disorder — though they ruled out leukemia — and that he had digestive problems.
Rumors of poisoning circulated at the time, but Palestinian officials denied them, and then-Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath said he "totally" ruled them out.
Over the course of a year, through natural sources and medical tests, the average American gets an effective radiation dose of 6.2 millisieverts (mSv). A potentially lethal dose of polonium-210 is 5 sieverts (Sv), Dallas said, which is about 1,000 times more powerful than that average year's worth of exposure.
Low concentrations of polonium are all around the environment. Additionally, tobacco contains polonium, and about twice as much of the radioactive substance has been found in the ribs of smokers than non nonsmokers, according to the Argonne report.
As for investigating a polonium poisoning, there are instruments that can detect low concentrations of polonium, Dallas said. But there's also a background level of polonium found in nature, so if an alleged poisoning happened many years ago, the remaining quantity in the body may be close to the background level.
Another tricky part about investigating a situation like this years after a potential poisoning: It would be relatively easy for someone to contaminate evidence after the fact with a small amount of the substance, Dallas said.
So it's possible that someone could have planted small amounts of polonium-210 in Arafat's belongings, Dallas said. High levels were found by a team of Swiss researchers at the Institut de Radiophysique.
Even through exhuming the body, it's not clear that detection would be foolproof, Dallas said. As time goes on, there's less and less of the radioactive substance left, so it would be more and more difficult to tell how much polonium-210 Arafat was exposed to, if any.
"It's going to be very hard to determine whether polonium was ever introduced there," Dallas said. "There will be a lot of dispute, I guess, depending on who is incriminated by this."
– Elizabeth Landeau
Posted November 28, 2012.


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The Website
All of the digitized material can be accessed through this website. For information about the collection, the history, the grant, and lesson plans, follow the links in the sidebar. Here you can also find links to the Flikr feed of the collection's photographs, informational posters, and the project blog. There are several organizations that are related to the industry in Michigan and other states, and links to these pages can also be found in the sidebar. Included here is the page of Dr. Terry Reynolds, professor of history at Michigan Technological University and the foremost scholar on the history of iron mining in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. There is a search function powered by Google. This can search the text of the entire website, but as the annual reports themselves have not been indexed, it cannot search within the PDFs. We apologize for this inconvenience.
The most important bit of the website is the EAD Finding Aid. The initial page contains information about the collection, and another sidebar provides links to the Annual Reports for the Mining, Land, Lumber, and Land and Lumber departments, as well as the Historical Maps. The various reports are organized by year, and clicking on the individual chapter links opens the PDF document in a new page. The maps are organized according to their original arrangement, with thumbnails for each item rather than text links. Clicking on the thumbnail opens the map in a new page as well, and the maximum size can be viewed there. Both the reports and the maps can be saved by right-clicking on them in this new window and selecting "Save As."
If there are any questions regarding the collection, the website, the finding aid, or the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives, please do not hesitate to use the form found on the Contact Us page.


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Rare Earth Ores and Radiation Risks at
Lynas Corporation's Mt Weld Operation
Lee Bell
November 2011
SummaryThe National Toxics Network (NTN) has been investigating the potential of radioactive contamination arising from the Lynas' rare earth concentrate plant at Mt Weld, near Laverton Western Australian. NTN is concerned a regulatory loophole is being utilised to improperly transport radioactive materials through WA suburbs to be shipped to Malaysia.
According to environmental and mining authorities in Western Australia, the waste slurry generated from the chemical processing and flotation of the rare earth ores at Lynas Corporation's Mt Weld concentrator plant is radioactive. The radiation is primarily due to the thorium and uranium content of the ore.
The tailings from the ore concentrator have also been deemed radioactive by the state Department of Mining and Petroleum.
NTN is extremely concerned that the concentrate will soon be transported through residential suburbs as if it were not a radioactive substance, with no identifying signage, despite being subject to a radiation management plan that has not been released for public consultation. The public and workers have a right to know about the radiation risks to which they will be exposed.
For a number of year Lynas has mined and stored stockpiles of rare earth ores (REO) at the Mt Weld mine site and graded these stockpiles according to purity and other factors. The stockpiled ore is then shipped 1.5 km to the concentrator plant where impurities are removed through chemical and flotation processes. Two major streams of material then leave the concentrator plant.
Firstly, the product is a lanthanum oxide concentrate (which also contains a range of other rare earths) and a waste stream which is a slurry of water and process liquors contaminated with 15.8% solids including the uranium and thorium with a pH of 10.5-10.8. Secondly, the waste is then piped to large tailings ponds where the liquid fraction can evaporate over time. This has the effect of concentrating the solid fraction of radioactive materials within the tailings pond residues. This concentrating factor has not been assessed by authorities and could result in radioactivity levels many times higher than claimed in the proponent's reports especially towards the end of the mine life. As the ponds dry out airborne dust containing radioactive particles will become a major management problem for decades to come.
Government documents have become available which indicate that Lynas Corporation failed to construct its tailings ponds according to the engineering conditions laid down in the environmental operating licence issued by the WA Department of Environment and Conservation.
As a result Lynas has been ordered by the DEC to rebuild a small section of their tailings pond and line it with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as an interim measure. If Lynas had received government approvals and used the initial tailings ponds they constructed, they would have leaked at an estimated 186, 000 litres per day or over 67 million litres per annum of radioactive leachate.
The DEC Environmental Assessment Report for the concentrator plant makes it clear that Lynas Corporation failed to meet the regulatory controls and conditions put in place to prevent environmental contamination from processing rare earth ore tailings production. It also raises considerable doubt about their ability to meet waste disposal regulations and environmental protection requirements in other jurisdictions such as Malaysia.
Radioactive tailings leakage – a licence to pollute.
The 'tailings' or waste material from the processing of rare earth ores at Mt Weld into a concentrate, contains 500ppm ThO2 (Thorium Oxide) and 30ppm U3O8 (Uranium Oxide). The calculated radiation specific activity from this combination is 1.80 Bq/g for the Thorium and 0.32 Bq/g for the Uranium which totals 2.12 Bq/g. This is more than twice the threshold radioactivity level set by the Department of Mining and Petroleum for classification as radioactive tailings ('radioactive' classification is in excess of 1.0 Bq/g). This regulatory criterion occurs under the Western Australian Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995.
The Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) is a 17.5 hectare paddock style impoundment constructed in two stages. The first stage was intended to take the first two years of waste followed by stage two which would see the banks raised to accommodate the future production waste.
A review of the integrity of the tailings ponds by Lynas engineering consultants Knight Piesold in 20091 found alarming evidence that the radioactive waste material would have been able to leak at the rate of 186,000 litres per day if the ponds had started to accept tailings. WA authorities ordered Lynas to fix their tailings facility after finding that the construction was grossly inadequate and a small tailings pond has now been lined with HDPE plastics to act as an interim waste storage pond. The remainder of the large tailing pond will now have to be re-engineered with HDPE over time.
However, even the new lined tailings facility is estimated to leak at the rate of up to 14,000 litres per day according to the Department of Environment and Conservation.2
Far from their claims of being a clean, green industry Lynas Corporation are prepared to allow the leakage of over 5 million litres of radioactive tailings every year at the site of their concentrator plant. The concentrator plant has been operating since May 2011 and 2.5 million litres of contaminated tailings have already leaked from the facility if the Department of Environment and Conservations predictions are correct. No monitoring data from the site has been released to the public as yet.
Contradictory regulations on Transport
Lynas confirm in their Radiation Management Plan that because their "ore, concentrate and tailings contain elevated concentrators of natural thorium and uranium personal annual radiation exposures at the Mt Weld operation were predicted to be above the annual public dose limit of 1mSv per year".3
In spite of the clear admission by Lynas Corporation that their ore, tailings and concentrate are sufficiently radioactive to exceed the annual public dose limit, they failed to take measures to sufficiently engineer their tailings pond resulting in potentially massive leakage of the radioactive waste.
At this stage there are no clear indications as to how the concentrated tailings will be managed at the end of the ponds life or the mine's decommissioning. Given that the ponds will be built in a hot, arid zone with little rainfall, the ponds can be expected to dry out and generate dust with radioactive particles and other heavy metals.
Notably, Malaysia also classifies waste or radioactive materials as 'radioactive' when the specific radioactivity level exceeds 1.0 Bq/g. This is the reason why Lynas Corporations 'product' or rare earth concentrate will be regulated as radioactive material for transportation purposes, from the moment it lands in Malaysia.
Lynas Corporation have relied on an exemption loophole in the Western Australian transport regulations to allow their concentrate to be shipped from Mt Weld to Fremantle Port (nearly 1000km) without it being classified as radioactive material. The loophole allows the concentrate to be transported without Dangerous Goods classification or 'radioactive material' classification due to an exemption clause in the Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Regulations, WA, 2002 which allows up to 10 Bq/g of specific radioactivity if the product is not destined for production to extract the radioactive elements (uranium and thorium) or if the material is not subject to chemical processing.
This is despite the fact that the Thorium levels are much higher in the concentrate (approx 1700 ppm) giving it a specific radioactivity level between 3.5 and 8 Bq/g4. So even though the concentrate exceeds the level at which tailings are classified radioactive by up to eight times, and exceeds the Malaysian transport regulations by up to eight times it will not be classified 'radioactive' for transport purposes in Western Australia thereby disguising its true nature to the public
There will be no signage or placarding on the trucks carrying the concentrate denoting its radioactive nature. This is critical for emergency workers to make rapid decisions in the event of an accident or spill of the concentrate on public roads or at the port.
Lynas argue that the Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Regulations, WA, 2002 and the ARPANSA Safe Transport of Radioactive Material Code of Practice (STRM, 2007) applies only to materials that are not chemically processed or intended for the extraction of the radionuclides. However, the processing of concentrate at Mt Weld involves the use of at least 5 chemicals which contradicts their claim that they are subject to an exemption from the transport regulations.
Indeed Lynas Corporation's Environmental Impact Assessment5 documents for their rare earth processing plant in Malaysia state; "The Advanced Materials Project involves processing lanthanide concentrate from Mt Weld in Western Australia, at a processing site that uses chemical treatment processes."
Further it can be argued that the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia will process the material to extract the radioactive elements uranium and thorium as well as other impurities. The impurities will then be dumped as part of the LAMP waste stream in Malaysia. As such the exemption from radioactive transport requirements in WA appears to be based on proponent assurances rather than sound science.
Contact : Lee Bell BA MA (ESD)


text: An officer of the Roman army, in command of a century, or company of 100 men, forming one-sixtieth part of a Roman legion. In New Testament times the legions were not up to their full strength, and a century varied from 50 to 100 men. At least five centurions are mentioned in the New Testament, of which perhaps the best known is Cornelius (Acts 10:1–35). See also Matt. 8:8–10; 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 7:1–9; 23:47; Acts 27:1; 28:16.


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This article is more than 1 year old
Google takes on AWS, Azure virty servers with micro billing and fat disks
Compute Engine open for all
Google I/O Google is done dabbling with raw compute and storage infrastructure and has thrown the doors wide open on its Compute Engine services, while at the same time offering finer-grained pricing and fatter persistent storage for its virtual machines than is available from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Windows Azure, and other public clouds.
In a session following the keynote today in San Francisco, Urs Hölzle, senior vice president for technical infrastructure, discussed Google's Cloud Platform, revealing enhancements to Compute Engine, a service launched in June 2012, which competes with Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure Compute, Rackspace Cloud, and a slew of others.
"Many of you want and need access to raw VMs, and that's important," he said. "We rolled out Compute Engine a year ago, and we have rolled out a ton of improvements since then."
The biggest and most important change is a sensible, even radical, shift in pricing as Compute Engine becomes generally available. Instead of charging per-hour for compute capacity for raw virty server slices, as everyone in the industry does, Google is to charge by the minute.
"Today, the standard unit of measure for compute is an hour, regardless of how much time you actually use," said Hölzle. "So if you have a 15 minute job that is done after 15 minutes, you still pay for 60 minutes, which increases your actual costs by four times."
"So just think about that. Imagine making a 15 minute phone call and then you get charged for a full hour. It makes no sense. And starting today, you won't get overcharged like that on Compute Engine."
Google has a caveat and qualifier on those per-minute charges for Compute Engine instance capacity. The charges are indeed billed in one-minute increments, but you have to pay with a ten-minute minimum.
Even so, in one fell swoop, Google has wiped out a whole chunk of profits that all of the other cloud providers have been counting on - like Bitcoins. Maybe a little too much like Bitcoins. . . .
Google's price list for Compute Engine instances still shows per-hour fees for virty machines hosted in Google's US and European data centers. Presumably, the per-minute rate for any machine is the hourly rate divided by 60 with a 10-minute minimum.
The current price list is effective as of December 1, 2012 and El Reg confirmed with Google that the billing system for Computer Engine will figure out the minutes. And by the way, it rounds up to the next minute if you go a second beyond a minute.
Another change as Compute Engine moves into general availability are shared-core instances. These are small, sub-core instances, like those available on other clouds, but unlike the tiny VMs on other clouds, according to Hölzle, who says the two from Google have predictable and consistent performance, not best-effort performance.
The g1-small instance has one virtual core, 1.7GB of virtual memory, and no persistent disk; it costs 5.4 cents per hour. The f1-micro instance has a single virtual core, 600MB of virtual memory, and no persistent disk and costs 1.9 cents per hour.
According to Hölzle, these instances are ideal for experimentation and are aimed at tasks that don't need a lot of resources but which you want to have running for a long time at a reasonable cost.
Big storage
The other big change that will cause heartburn at other public cloud providers is Google's decision to offer 10TB of persistent storage as an option for Compute Engine instances.
"Our persistent disks are limited to 1TB, and even though it matches what other providers have, it wasn't really enough," Hölzle says. "And you asked us to make them bigger and you were right – 1TB isn't really big enough."
This may not be as big as a deal as when Google offered 1GB of email storage when Gmail launched so many years ago at a time when others offered tens of megabytes. But the combination of minute billing and fat persistent disks is going to have a ripple effect on pricing throughout the cloud.
Just like every time Amazon Web Services cuts prices it does. Google buys enough iron that it can probably get into a price war with Amazon, and it sure as hell has a lot more profits than the e-tailing giant ever dreamed of.
This cloud price war is going to be fun to watch, especially if you are a customer.
Routing and OpenFlowing
Hölzle did not make a big fuss about the networking that underpins the Compute Engine service, but he noted an Advanced Routing feature that creates a virtual private network to link from your on-premise infrastructure over a secure tunnel.
Google is a pioneer in using OpenFlow SDN in production
He also bragged that with everyone yammering about OpenFlow and software-defined networks, Google has operated an OpenFlow backbone with several terabits per second of aggregate bandwidth that connects its data centers in North America, Europe, and Asia for the past two years.
Of course, Google is also rich enough to lay its own undersea fiber optic cables to link its data centers, too. Few companies on the planet can afford to do that. ®


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Lyle Ritz, Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters – Tonight You Belong to Me (Tab/Chords)
This is one of the definitive ukulele songs, yet it no two tab/chords seem to agree how to play it. There are at least two videos (1, 2) declaring that everyone else's version are wrong and theirs is right. Well, everyone else is wrong and I'm right.
Seriously, though, I don't think I'm dead on. The turnaround sections are packed with jazzy chords and tricky to get right.
First off, you'll have to tune every string down half a step (I suppose you'd call it B tuning). But, to keep things simple, I've named the chords after their C tuning shapes.
The intro goes like this:
With the G string carrying the little melody.
The chords for the verse are based on a G chord with a descending note and a little filigree on the top string. At the end of the first verse, there's little little lick (or something like it):
Similarly, there's this at the end of the second verse:
After that is the, "Way down…" section and you get a break from the jazz chords. It's mostly Cm with occasional slides up from Bm.
The chords for the trumpet solo are exactly the same as those in the verse.
You can get a solo version by Lyle Ritz (who played the Jerk version) in his Jumpin' Jim's Ukulele Masters book (he also has a new book out Lyle Lite. And don't miss out on the Guthrie girls' version of Tonight, You Belong to Me.


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Yes. The Emergency Communications Center is equipped with Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) enabling communications with the speech/hearing-impaired callers.
If a caller uses a TTY/TDD, the caller should:
If a deaf or hearing/speech impaired caller does not have a TTY/TDD, the caller should call 9-1-1 and do not hang up. Not hanging up leaves the line open. With most 9-1-1 calls, the caller's address is displayed on the call taker's screen and help will be sent.
Dispatchers ask for pertinent information first – address, type of call, name of caller or those involved, and your call back number. Once the initial information is obtained, additional questions may be asked depending on the type of call. The questioning will not slow down the dispatching of the appropriate assistance. In emergency cases, this information is relayed immediately to field units so they may begin responding to the incident, while the dispatcher remains on the phone to obtain further details that are also relayed to the responding units as it is gathered, in real time. The dispatcher will further assist callers by giving instructions to callers on how to administer life saving techniques, such as CPR, during medical emergencies; to take steps to promote the personal safety of the caller, the victim and responding Police, Fire, or EMS personnel, and to engage in those actions that preserve evidence to aid in the apprehension of suspects.
When reporting an emergency:
The person answering 9-1-1 is a trained dispatcher. They have been trained as to what questions to ask. Be prepared to follow the dispatcher's line of questioning (e.g. WHEN did the incident occur, WHAT is happening, WHERE the situation is occurring, WHO is involved, is a WEAPON involved, what INJURIES have been sustained, etc.).
If you call 9-1-1 by mistake, DO NOT HANG UP. Stay on the line and tell the dispatcher that everything is all right. If a caller to 911 hangs up without stating the problem, the caller must be contacted in order to ensure that no actual emergency exits. This may involve the dispatching of a law enforcement officer to your home or place of business in order to ensure that a problem does not exist. One common misconception that citizens have about dialing 911 by mistake is they will somehow get into trouble. This is not true!
9-1-1 is only to be used in emergencies. An emergency is any situation that requires immediate assistance from the police, fire, or rescue. 9-1-1 is for emergencies, potential emergencies, or when an emergency is imminent.
Ask yourself:
Please, do not call 9-1-1 to report that electricity or other utilities are off; to notify authorities of traffic jams; to inquire about government services; or to learn general information.


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Elizabeth Wurtzel Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Wurtzel has written!
Author Wurtzel's Book Reviews
More, Now Again
Elizabeth Wurtzel is a woman in her late twenties to thirties. She is a succesful writer having just finished her first noevl 'Prozac Nation'. Struggeling with depression as a young child, she has had a life full of up's and downs. This book is about her life during the time of her writing her second novel and all the struggle she faces during this period. She has been proscribed 'Ritlin' by her Doctor as a way to help her cope with her depression and co...
Prozac Nation
Elizabeth Wurtzel details her struggle with depression starting from early adolesence and continuing throughout college and beyond. She speaks of a great force outside of herself, a "black wave," that takes over her being and immobilizes her during a time when we as a society were first beginning to understand depression as a mental illness. In attempts to get her emotions under control, Wurtzel describes her journey through therapy, self-medication wi...


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Back to School special: Dr. Root interview |
By Jennifer Shahade | |
September 16, 2006 | |
Dr.Alexey Root, senior lecturer at University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), is at the forefront of chess education in America. From 1999-2003, she was a recruiter for UTD, helping to shape the three-time Pan-American championship team. She abandoned that role to focus on spreading the value of chess in education. Root authored Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators (2006) and teaches an online class (part of UTD's TeleCampus program) for educators aiming to use chess as a learning tool. Although she's not active anymore, Alexey has also earned credentials as a competitive player. She became an expert at just fifteen years old, and was first in the 1989 U.S. Women's Championship. She tells CLO about the benefits of online chess education classes, the thrills of recruiting IMs as far as Zambia and India and why she supports separate women's tournaments. |


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There's a sweet spot for family movies. Marrying elements that appeal to kids and adults alike, a family movie can offer flashy visuals, sophisticated drama and humor, and juicy acting that allow kids to stretch upward and adults happily to revert to childlike joy. Unfortunately, The Wachowski Brothers overshoot the mark with Speed Racer, an eccentric misfire that panders to the ADHD set and—in the adult arena—idiots and acid-droppers.
It goes without saying that Speed Racer is also catnip for hardcore video-gamers of all ages, whose brains are wired for long-term eye-glazing imagery and minimal narrative. It's two-hours-plus of twisty-track, gap-leaping Hot Wheels come to life, with a plot as mind-numbing as the vintage Japanese-transplant Saturday-morning cartoons from whence the property originates. Because it can't all be overstimulating (and ultra-expensive) action, the film stops on a dime for weird diversions—like a Willy Wonka-esque tour of race-car R&D labs—and dour melodramatic wallowing no doubt required to attract actors like Susan Sarandon and John Goodman to this dramatic wasteland.
Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) plays Speed Racer—and with a name like that, no wonder racing is "the only thing [he] know[s] how to do." A whirlwind prologue establishes the Racer family's angsty past, involving the shameful downfall of Speed's beloved older brother Rex (Scott Porter of Friday Night Lights). The pawn of corrupt business interests, Rex disappeared and is presumed dead, leaving Speed to inherit his brother's primary pole position at the forefront of international racing.
"Let us hope he does not make the same mistakes his brother made," intones a play-by-play announcer. But Speed's racing brilliance makes him and his Mom and Pops racing outfit attractive chum to the sharky Royalton Industries, which plies the family in the hopes of signing Speed to an ominous contract as big as four phone books. When Speed predictably decides against throwing in with Royalton (Roger Allam), he gets an education in corruption: according to the mogul, the fabled Grand Prix has been fixed for its entire history by a cabal of business leaders.
Having chosen unwisely, Speed Racer will be a loser at best and dead at worst. Thank goodness Speed can rely on his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), Mom (Sarandon), Pops (Goodman), brother Spritle (Paulie Litt), grease monkey Sparky (Kick Gurry), and actual monkey Chim Chim (Willy & Kenzie) to support him in his campaign to stand up to big business by winning every race on the planet. Speed also gets assists from Inspector Detector (Benno Fürmann); Horuko (Yu Nan), the compromised but sympathetic girlfriend of a racing rival; and mysterious "harbinger of boom" Racer X (Matthew Fox, who most definitely took the wrong paycheck). Go Speed Racer Go!
The visual look of Speed Racer lends itself to a good preview, which is of utmost importance to real-world business interest TimeWarner. The candy-colored look is largely unique, but with so little to support, the visuals swiftly become repetitive. The notion that the Wachowskis are reinventing cinema "again" is a crock: they firmly base their technique on George Lucas' methodology for his latter-day Star Wars trilogy: filming entirely on sparse green-screen sets later digitally painted into existence. To the extent that the film is innovative, it's all about the eye-popping colors and oddball use of the frame's geography, as heads glide and zip across the screen in emulation of joystick games and funny pages.
It's also a picture full of encoded, ambivalent messages from filmmakers whose success has seemingly encroached on their artistic armspan. "I'm feeling more intimidated than impressed," Pops says of the grand Royalton tour—in a remark that resembles the movie. "Some people have way too much money." Royalton later declaims, "All that matters is power, and the unassailable might of money!" Mom affirms the purity of Speed's artful intentions on the track, and Racer X philosophizes, "You don't climb into a T180 to be a driver; you do it because you're driven."
The frenzied leaps, zig-zags, and 360s of the Mach 5 make the racing sequences beyond-Thunderdome crazy, the Lucas-esque idea of staging the Casa Cristo Classic 5000 off-road race in various terrains almost gets a grip on the movie for a few minutes, and Michael Giacchino's hyperactive cartoon music is witty. So why does the thing seem so fatally lacking in fun? With zesty, unbothered dialogue, someone like Quentin Tarantino might have made something watchable of this cheerfully plasticine material, but as it is, it's a joyless exercise that makes a post-adolescent audience feel as drugged or brainwashed as the cast looks.
Coming as it does from a HD master, this effects-heavy movie looks brilliant on Blu-ray: sharply detailed, free of artifacting, and colorful as all get out. According to my display calibrations, Speed Racer's oversaturated color scheme can at times read more harshly on home video than it did in theatres, with hot reds and a bit of bleeding. But excepting that one proviso, this is pretty darn close to "lossless video." Mastered as a BD-25 disc, this special edition doesn't have the necessary space to support a Dolby TrueHD track, which will miff some hoping for an all-around reference-quality disc, but to my humble ears, the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track gets 'er done with plenty of potency. The Blu-ray also includes four bonus features.
"Speed Racer: Car Fu" (27:38, in SD) explores the Wachowskis' concept behind the film (incorporating anime, skateboarding, and NASCAR), the design and special effects work which realized the concept (including considerations of how far to bend mechanics and physics), and the actors' shared responsibility for making it all seem real. Contributors include producers Joel Silver and Grant Hill, 2nd unit director James McTeigue, Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Scott Porter, John Benfield, Roger Allam, Paulie Litt, production designer Owen Paterson, conceptual artist Jeff Julian, senior graphic designer Henning Brehm, graphic designer Alejandro Lecuna, supervising model maker Frank Schlegel, storyboard artists Steve Skroce and Tani Kunitake, pre-vis supervisor Kyle Robinson, pre-vis artist Dorian Knapp, digital effects supervisor Jake Morrison, environment plate supervisor Dennis Martin, location manager Marco Giacalone, environment art director Lubo Hristov, 3D integration artist Jesse James Chrisholm, digital production manager Patrick Kearney, art director for Physical Vehicles Stephan Gessler, and visual effects supervisors Dan Glass, Dan Gaeta, and Mohen Leo. Along the way, we also get glimpses of the shoot and various layers of the special effects shots in development. It all amounts to an interesting look at the way Speed Racer breaks the rules in its pursuit of a kind of "jazz animation."
Blu-ray exclusive "Spritle in the Big Leagues" (14:34) is a tongue-in-cheek, kid-friendly behind-the-scenes featurette, with pop-up trivia, a glimpse of the international press conference and, primarily, a tour of the prop department, the chimp yard, the Racer house set, the gimbal, the art/effects department, the gym, and the costume department. Along the way, guide Paulie Litt chats with Silver, Hirsch, Rain, Paterson, Brehm, Lecuna, Gaeta, Knapp, Gessler, supervising art director Hugh Bateup, animal trainer Mike James Casey, digital effects artist Andy Jones, digital set designer Wolfgang Matschan, supervising stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski, ninja stuntman Philip Tan, stunt coordinator David Leitch, and head textile artist Matt Reitsma, principal racer leathers guy Patrick Whitaker, helmet supervisor Andreas Brandt, and security man "Heinz." Packed into these fifteen minutes are more information and entertainment than "Car Fu" has in its twenty-eight minutes.
"Speed Racer: Supercharged" (15:43) is a sort of mock newsreel that reports on the racing world of the movie by profiling the various fictional racing companies, cars, and speedways. It'll be catnip for car lovers young and old. It's a creative way to present a closer look at the film's elaborate and deeply developed production design. Disc two of the Blu-ray set includes the DVD-based game Speed Racer Crucible Challenge, which is, unfortunately, lame. I doubt very much that kids will be swindled by this herky-jerky racing game, considering the many preferential racing games on the market. But it is a bonus to the feature, and allows the player to be Speed, Racer X, or Taejo in four levels of play: Mugranna, Zunubian Desert, Mountain Pass Rendezvous, and Maltese Ice Caves.
Review gear: |
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer


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So far as humans know, the world record for longest nonstop flight by a land bird is held by E7, a female bar-tailed godwit. In 2007, as a satellite tracked her, she flew 7,200 miles from Alaska to New Zealand in eight days. The Web site of the U. S. Geologic Survey's Alaska Science Center displays the bird's route. (Scroll down to see a photo of E7 and click on the USGS Newsroom report for details on her epic journey.) With recent improvements in technology, satellite tracking is answering many questions about animal movements across the globe. Godwits were monitored to learn how a deadly bird flu might be transmitted someday, but wildlife managers are collecting similar data from birds, sea mammals, and fish with an eye on helping far-flung species in decline.
One of the best Web sites to get a quick look at the variety of animals now being tracked by satellites is TOPP, which stands for Tagging of Pacific Predators. The interactive map on their homepage is designed for users of all ages to follow the travels of individual marine animals that this organization has tagged, but you should read the instructions first. Or you can click on one of the animal images at the top to zero-in on that species. Begun in 2000, TOPP is one of 17 projects of the Census of Marine Life. TOPP researchers in eight countries have attached a variety satellite tags to more than 2,000 predators belonging to twenty-two species, including elephant seals, white sharks, leatherback turtles, squid, tuna, and birds. Go to "About TOPP" for a short video overview of the project.
ICARUS, short for International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space, is another site with information on tracking animals by satellite. Founded in 2002, it is an international consortium of scientists investigating the migration and dispersal of small animals, such as bats, insects, and songbirds. Click on "Technical Challenge" on the menu bar to learn about the satellite system that is needed to track small animals. According to the site, the lightest satellite tag is currently nine grams. Some tags are even solar powered.
For large animals, the weight of a modern tracking transmitter is not an important consideration. And whales are the largest of them all. One site where you can follow the travels of whales and seals in the Atlantic is STOP, WhaleNet's Satellite Tagging Observation Program. There you can find actively transmitting harp and harbor seals, as well as more than 135 archived tracking records of whales, porpoises, and turtles. New animals will be tagged, but the equipment remains costly, the beacons typically cost several thousand dollars. At Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures Web site, a page entitled Tag, You're It! Tracking a Grey Whale Journeydescribes the process of tagging the enormous animals with a transmitter that not only sends information on location and time, but also dive depth and other parameters. A news release from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center "Satellite Tagging Humpbacks in the South Pacific: Windows on the Whales' World," reports on how the technology is, for the first time, revealing the routes humpback whales travel as the navigate the vast South Pacific. The tags in this survey were monitored by the ARGOS system of worldwide satellite tracking—the space network, which nearly all of the animal migration studies appear to rely on. Conceived in France in 1978, the system gathers all sorts of global environmental data, but is used to monitor just about anything, including human adventurers and yacht races.
The Southwest Fisheries Science Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has used satellite tags to study the movements of two types of killer whales in Antarctic waters. One type specializes in pinniped predation, while the other kind consumes mostly fish. On this page, click on the map, and a larger version will appear where you can see the movements plotted as the clock advances. Another page, this one by the Cascadia Research Collective based in Olympia Washington, looks at whale tagging around Hawaiian Islands.
An important side benefit of tagging marine animals is that they provide a mobile platform for collecting all sorts of information. An article on a University of California at Santa Cruz Web site, "High-tech Tags on Marine Animals Yield Valuable Data for Biologists and Oceanographers," reports on how the animals can be used as ocean sensors, collecting data on water temperature and salinity. Such oceanographic information coupled with the animals movements and feeding patterns, reveals much about marine environment they navigate.
Fish of all sorts are now being tagged. Most of the fish species targeted are important to fisheries, like the declining bluefin tuna. Others are followed simply to learn more about their role in the marine ecosystem. View the TED talk (below) by marine biologist Tierney Thys on her investigation of giant ocean sunfish movements in the Western Pacific. Her research on the bizarre, big-headed Mola mola is a perfect example of how the satellite tracking can finally tell us how an open ocean creature really lives.
Satellite tracking of endangered species, like the leatherback turtle, are yielding important information to help guide future conservation efforts. Watch this video on the efforts of Stanford University researchers to tag leatherbacks breeding on the beaches of Costa Rica.
Closer to shore, manatee movements are being watched. Go to Manatee Migrations at the Save the Manatee Club to see how satellite tags are being used to help conserve these endangered herbivores. From year to year, the Florida manatees may extend their travels depending on water conditions.
As already mentioned above, birds are frequent subjects for satellite tagging. The new transmitters can often provide more information than has been gathered after decades of banding and conventional radio telemetry studies. At the University of California's Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group there is an interesting report on bald eagle migrations. "As the bald eagle continues its recovery in the face of human expansion in California, this exciting new tool can effectively produce a wealth of information to help plan for the continuance of healthy local and wintering populations."
Large land mammals are not immune from the researchers' tags. At Elephants Without Borders, there is a page on their tagging efforts of some sixty elephants so far. Satellite monitoring is providing critical conservation information on the animals as they roam in and out of national parks and cross the borders of four countries in southern Africa. The results: "EWB's research is revealing that elephants are using old pathways, and historical corridors to exploit "new lands." One example EWB has discovered pertains to Angola. The end of civil conflict in Angola has provided the requisite security for elephants to return to this war-torn country. Elephants are trekking from northern Botswana through the Caprivi Strip into southeast Angola, where elephant numbers have increased from 36 in 2001 to over 8,000 in 2007. The elephants have not returned to Botswana and are now resident in Angola, despite the many unexploded landmines. This "re-colonization" is a natural dispersal which results in a more dynamic ebb and flow of elephant numbers within a "natural migratory system."
Although satellite monitoring of small animals is not yet possible, I had to include monarch butterfly migrations simply because it amazing. You can watch PBS's NOVA show, which follows the winged insects as they flutter from Canada to Mexico in one of the most incredible animal migrations on Earth. Robert Anderson is a freelance science writer who lives in Los Angeles. There are still many unanswered questions about how the special fourth generation of these butterflies manage to navigate to a small area in the mountains of Mexico, having never been there before.
And just for completeness, I include several sites on human migration that I came across. (Humans are generally not monitored with tags unless they are criminals.) At the TED site, author Robert Neuwirth talks about the ongoing trend of human migration to urban areas in The "Shadow Cities" of the Future. And geneticist Spencer Wells talks about Building a Family Tree for All Humanity, a project that reveals how humans have spread around the globe. At PBS'sNewshour, you can find a Map of Human Migration that graphically traces the major dispersion routes of our ancestors.


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Bacteria must compete for resources to survive, even if it means a fight to the death
Like all organisms, bacteria must compete for resources to survive, even if it means a fight to the death.
New research led by scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the University of California, Santa Barbara, describes new complexities in the close chemical combat waged among bacteria.
And the findings from this microscopic war zone may have implications for human health and survival.
"It has been known for a long time that bacteria can produce toxins that they release into their surroundings that can kill other bacteria, sort of like throwing hand grenades at enemies," said Peggy A. Cotter, PhD, associate professor in the microbiology and immunology department at UNC. "Our data suggests that the situation is far more complex that we thought."
Cotter points out that it was in David A. Low's lab at U.C. Santa Barbara, where the discovery was made that bacteria can also produce proteins on their surface that inhibit the growth and end the life of other bacteria upon contact.
"So it appears that some bacteria participate in 'man to man' (or 'bacteria to bacteria') combat using poison-tipped swords," Cotter said. "What we have discovered is that each bacterium can have a different poison at the tip of their sword. For each poison, there is a specific protective (immunity) protein that the bacteria also make so that they don't kill themselves and are not killed by other members of their same 'family'."
The new research by senior co-authors Cotter and Low and others appear on-line November 18, 2010 in the journal Nature.
As to "swords," the metaphor lives close to reality. Bacteria use proteins to interact with a host, including disease-causing bacteria, such as Bordetella pertussis, the cause of whooping cough and Burkholderia pseudomallei, found in soil throughout Southeast Asia and a cause of a frequently fatal tropic disease.
In these and other gram-negative bacteria, large proteins appear as rods on the surface of cells. "In the soil or in humans, different bacteria bump into each other all the time and bump into their own 'family,' too. They have to touch each other and recognize each other and then one can inhibit the growth of the other, non-family, bacteria." Cotter said.
According to the UNC scientist, this system may represent a primitive form of kin selection, whereby organisms kill organisms that are genetically different but not those that are closely related.
"As an additional twist, we have found that some bacteria can have two or three (or possibly more) systems. Our data suggest that these bacteria will be protected from killing by bacteria that produce any of three types of poison swords and they will be able to kill other bacteria that lack at least one of those types of immunity proteins."
Moreover, there's evidence here that these bacteria acquire these additional systems by horizontal gene transfer from other bacteria. "In other words, it seems that they may be able to kill their enemy and then steal the poison-tipped sword and protective (immunity) protein from the dead enemy, increasing their own repertoire of weapons."
By teasing out the genetics of these bacterial close combat mysteries, it may someday be possible to "engineer an organism, a non-pathogenic variant, and by putting it out in the environment, such as soil, you can potentially get rid of other pathogens, "Cotter said. "Or you could decontaminate an area, if the new knowledge is applied to biodefense."
Source: University of North Carolina School of Medicine


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Welcome to the Indianapolis Hoosiers Vintage Base Ball Club website.
The Indianapolis Hoosiers team was originally an American Association professional baseball team, which existed in it's original form in 1884. The team was reorganized in 1887 when they joined the National League from 1887 - 1889. Now, with the help of the Indiana Historical Society, we've reformed the Hoosiers team to play with other teams with the VBBA.org.
For more information contact Jim "Mountain" Walker | email@example.com | (317) 408-1366